Principal Securities Inc. Sells 1,230 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Principal Securities Inc. reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,183 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,230 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. State Street Corp boosted its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after acquiring an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 5.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,221,000 after purchasing an additional 194,542 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Zoetis by 10.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.7 %

ZTS opened at $156.43 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $168.10 and its 200 day moving average is $178.61.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.